Ash

HERO When the fighting is over, this angel must be decorated highly for his outstanding bravery. Police Officer Igor Pivniv lives in Moshav Yated just 4 km from Gaza. On the morning of October 7 he went to work as usual. Some time later, his wife messaged him that their community's electricity was cut, that gunfire were heard, and that she and their three girls were frightened. Igor grabbed a utility vest, a helmet, a rifle and bullets, and drove straight home to save his family. The drive was not straightforward. Many roads in the South were blocked. Over the radio, Igor heard the terrifying news that multiple communities had fallen and were under the terrorists' control. On the way, he spotted an ambush set up by the Hamas terrorists. He approached stealthily and managed to neutralise the threat, killing them all. He came across another car driven by terrorists, who were shooting at civilians trying to escape the area, and killed them. He then waited patiently for some time, saw four more terrorists approach the car and opened fire and killed them too. Igor found grenades, ammunition and weapons in the car, and took them. Continuing on his way, Igor saw more terrorists on a motorbike atop a hill. Again, he approached stealthily through bushes, wiped them out and took their weapons and ammunition. Pausing for a moment, he messaged his wife that he was OK. When he reached his village, Igor realised that he was alone. There, he managed to prevent two further attacks. He reached his home safely and realised that he had to defend his community. All the while, Igor tried repeatedly to contact the police and the military, but their hands were tied in other places. Together with a band of spontaneous volunteers, Igor managed to defend their village until the evening, when the army arrived. Thanks to Igor's tenacity and bravery, not a single person in his village was killed that dark day.